A 22-year-old Swedish passport holder of Tunisian heritage has been arrested in connection with the murder of Swedish-Albanian record producer Flamur ‘Alex’ Begiri in London on Christmas Eve.
The 22-year-old, who is said to live in the multicultural southern city of Malmö, was arrested by Danish authorities in Copenhagen at the city’s airport during passport control following a return flight from Thailand, Danish magazine Ekstra Bladet reports.
The fatal shooting of 36-year-old Begiri took place on a London street in front of his family home with one witness claiming to have heard at least five gunshots, saying that many neighbours assumed the loud noise had been fireworks due to Christmas Eve celebrations.
According to Ekstra Bladet, UK police have requested Danish authorities hand over the 22-year-old suspect but as the Swede has refused to voluntarily travel to the UK, the process to extradite him is ongoing.
“We believe that Flamur Beqiri may have been involved in criminal activities in Sweden, and is in contact with our Swedish colleagues to try to understand which episodes may have led to someone seeking revenge on Flamur in the UK,” London Homicide Division detective Jamie Stevenson said.
Swedish broadcaster SVT has reported that the 22-year-old is known to police but has not been convicted of any crimes in Malmö.
Investigators also believe that the shooting may be linked to a Malmö shooting last year that saw a woman in her 30s shot dead in late August. the likely intended target was a well-known gang member who Ekstra Bladet claim is also linked to Beqiri.
The city of Malmö saw multiple shootings last year that are believed to be related to criminal gang activity including one that saw a 15-year-old boy shot dead outside of a pizza parlous in November.